Monday, February 29, 2016

Oscars 2017: Looking Ahead

Hello, Bloggers! We have officially put the 88th Academy Awards behind us. But it's not too early to look right ahead into the future. Here is a preview of films that might be Oscar players in the upcoming season.

I'll start off by discussing films that'll likely prevent #OscarsSoWhite from trending yet again. First off is Birth of a Nation which Fox Searchlight bought for a record $17 million and is sure to be their top player in the awards race. Next is the drama Loving directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga. Loving is about a real-life interracial couple who got arrested for attempting to get married. A fim about blacks fighting for equal rights with a white voice involved is sure to have Oscar written all over it. There is the film adaptation of the Broadway play Fences. Denzel Washington will direct, playwright Tony Kushner will write, and Viola Davis will star. If the film is completed by the end of this year and is released by the end of this year, here's hoping it doesn't become this year's Selma. If it does become an Oscar player, I can imagine Viola Davis becoming a threat for a win after almost winning Best Actress for The Help.
David Oyelowo made a lot of waves after getting snubbed for Best Actor for Selma. But he'll have another chance to get in this year with A United Kingdom opposite Oscar club member Rosamund Pike and directed by Belle director Amma Asante. Thanks to Amma Asante's involvement, they'll have a shot at finally recognizing a black woman for Best Director.
Next, what do Oscar's old pals have in store? Well, Martin Scorsese's long awaited Silence starring Andrew Garfield and Liam Neeson about two Jesuit priests traveling to Japan will be released. Also, Clint Eastwood has yet another biopic up his sleeve with Sully about American pilot Chesley Sullenberger where Tom Hanks plays the titular pilot. This could either be an American Sniper or a J. Edgar.
Now that Leonardo DiCaprio has finally taken home his Oscar, could he be passing the torch to a currently overdue actress? Well, Amy Adams will be everywhere this year thanks to her involvement in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Story of Your Life by Denis Villeneuve and co-starring Jeremy Renner, and Nocturnal Animals opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by A Single Man's Tom Ford. There's also Adams' fellow redhead Jessica Chastain who's got the Holocaust drama The Zookeeper's Wife up her sleeve. Of course, Meryl Streep poses a perennial threat to score another nomination for the biopic Florence Foster Jenkins unless Streep fatigue begins to set in. But what about an actress that hasn't even been nominated yet? I'm talking about Emily Blunt for the murder mystery Girl On The Train (crossing my fingers this finally happens).

Going back to biopics, Michael Keaton might be looking to score that elusive Best Actor Oscar for The Founder where he plays Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's. He was in the latest two Best Picture winners so it helps that he is on a bit of a hot streak.

So that is just a sampling of what will likely be in store for the upcoming Oscar season. I look forward to seeing whether these movies and performances become legitimate contenders. Please feel free to share your thoughts on whether these films seem like contenders in the comments section. Thanks for reading!